The Light Of Christ Illumines All!

On Wednesdays during Lent the Presanctified Liturgy is celebrated. The
word Presanctified refers to Holy Communion which has been consecrated on the Sunday
before and distributed at the Presanctified Liturgy. One of the special features of this
liturgy is the solemn blessing with a single lighted candle by the Priest who announces
"The Light of Christ illumines all!" The faithful make a prostration. The scriptural
readings are from Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah and Proverbs signifying the preparatory nature
of this service.

As we journey thru lent towards Pascha (Easter), St. Luke Parish invites
you to journey with us. To follow along and see pictures and descriptions of lenten
services culminating in the Resurrection Service, Please Click Here

Akathist Service

In some Orthodox Churches of the Russian Tradition the Presanctified
Liturgy is celebrated both on Wednesday and Friday. Churches of the Greek Tradition
celebrate the Akathist (salutations) to the Virgin Mary of Friday. An Akathist Hymn is a
liturgical prayer of praise written about Christ, a certain saint or a need such as
thanksgiving. The Akathist Hymn to the Virgin Mary portrays her as a compassionate
mother who cares for us through her prayers. During Lent this is necessary because
of the spiritual battle which we have undertaken.

As we journey thru lent towards Pascha (Easter), St. Luke Parish invites
you to journey with us. To follow along and see pictures and descriptions of lenten
services culminating in the Resurrection Service, Please Click Here

As Many As Have Been Baptised Into Christ!

This Sunday following Liturgy, St. Luke had yet another baptism and chrismation.

Scene from baptism and chrismation.

Scene from baptism and chrismation.

Scene from baptism and chrismation.

Congratulations go out to Tristen and Corbin. God Grant Them Many Years!

Sunday Of Orthodoxy

On the first Sunday of Lent, Orthodox Christians celebrate the official
declaration of the 7th Ecumenical Council 787AD that the veneration of Icons is not the
worship of images as the 2nd commandment describes. (Link to icons). To celebrate the
event, the parishioners of St. Luke held a procession of Icons, ( See Iconography) which circled the interior
of the sanctuary while the choir sang the hymn of the event.

Scene from procession.

Scene from procession.

At its conclusion the proclamation of Orthodoxy was recited.

Proclamation of Orthodoxy:

As the Prophets beheld, as the Apostles have taught, as the Church has
received, as the Teachers have dogmatized, as the Universe has agreed, as grace has shown
forth, as Truth has revealed, as Falsehood has been dissolved, as Wisdom has presented, as
Christ awarded; Thus we declare, thus we assert, thus we preach Christ Our True God, and
honor His Saints in words, in writings, in thoughts, in sacrifices, in Churches, in Holy
Icons; On the one hand worshipping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord, and on the
other, honoring the Saints as true servants of the same Lord of All, and offering them
proper veneration.

This is the Faith of the Apostles,
This is the Faith of the Fathers,
This is the Faith of the Orthodox,
This is the Faith which has established the Universe.

As we journey thru lent towards Pascha (Easter), St. Luke Parish invites
you to journey with us. To follow along and see pictures and descriptions of lenten
services culminating in the Resurrection Service, Please Click Here

The Reading of the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

A canon is a liturgical poem divided into verses with a refrain. The
Canon of St. Andrew, written in the 7th century, is divided into four sections, which are
read on Monday through Thursday during Compline of the first week of Lent. St. Andrew, in
composing the canon, traces the lives of people in the Bible who lived according to God's
commandments with those who failed. By doing this, St. Andrew reminds us of our failings
and need of repentance.

As we journey thru lent towards Pascha (Easter), St. Luke Parish invites
you to journey with us. To follow along and see pictures and descriptions of lenten
services culminating in the Resurrection Service, Please Click Here

Forgiveness Sunday Vespers

The first service of Great Lent is called Forgiveness Sunday Vespers.
The verses sung refer to beginning Lenten fasting overcoming sin and of spiritual growth.
At the dismissal Father Andrew spoke about his own personal failings and asked for
forgiveness and the parishioners asked each other for forgiveness while the choir sang
the Paschal hymns.

As we journey thru lent towards Pascha (Easter), St. Luke Parish invites
you to journey with us. To follow along and see pictures and descriptions of lenten
services culminating in the Resurrection Service, Please Click Here

St. Luke Recognizes New Members

This Sunday following Liturgy, St. Luke Parish recognized some of it's new members. Father Andrew prayed over them, introduced them to the parish, and asked us all to welcome them.

Service For Welcoming New Members

Priest - Do you wish to become members of St. Luke ParishNew Member - I doPriest - Will you do your part for the building up of Christ holy ChurchNew Member - I willPriest: Let us pray to the Lord, Choir: Lord have mercy

O Lord God Almighty, because of Your great and incalculable love for us
You have shown us the right path to the knowledge of You, the one true God, worshiped and
glorified in the Trinity. We give thanks to You because You have directed Your servants
(Names) to become members of St. Luke’s parish. We pray that they will be illumined with
the knowledge and understanding of Your Holy Scripture so that they will follow your
ordinances. We pray that they may not be absent from Your house but will enter it with
faith and thanksgiving always worshiping and glorifying Your holy name. We pray that they
may partake often of Your holy body and blood not unto judgement or condemnation but to
eternal life. We pray that they will be preserved from all evil attacks of the enemy. So
that on Your fearful judgement day they will be numbered with those on your right hand.
And we pray that we may all become one as You are one with your eternal Father, and Life
Giving Spirit always now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen

Icon is presented - Turn to face Congregation

Priest - These new members are given to your care. Love them as
Christ loves you. Help them mature in the faith so they may fulfill Christ command to
preach the gospel.

Father Andrew then presented them with an icon of St. Luke. God Grant Them Many Years!

Church School Pre-Lenten Retreat

This Sunday St. Luke Parish held it's Church School Pre Lenten Retreat.
The congregation was split between two Liturgys, one for the main congregation and a
teaching Liturgy for the school children and their parents.

Here we see Father Andrew celebrating the 'teaching' liturgy downstairs
in the old fellowship hall for the church school students and staff.

After Divine Liturgy everyone enjoyed the Pre-Lenten Brunch. All new members were our guests.

The first graders enjoyed a warm-up exercise before their lesson.

The preschoolers love competitive games.

Pat Harrison is an excellent baby sitter! With the little ones under supervision, mom and dad could enjoy the adult segment of the retreat.

The intermediate grade level students not only made individual banners, but one big one, too.

They are proud of their work of art which will be displayed starting Pascha, May 1st.

The second and third graders are enthusiastic about making banners.

The teens learned T-shirt designing in a very short time. Such creativity!

All the youngsters traced their footprints on a giant banner. Next year, they'll compare foot sizes to see how much they've grown.

Deacon Andrew prepared the preschoolers for seminary.

Father Howard led the adult discussion on the "Purpose Driven Life."

There's nothing like a group photo to show off all the crafts.

Purpose Drive Life Study Group

The Purpose Drive Life study group have been meeting at the Steven's
condo every Friday for four weeks. There are still three more weeks to go to complete the
first study series. The series is based on the best selling book entitled Purpose Driven
Life by Pastor Rick Warren. Caye Caswick led this session which covered the concept of
being made for eternity. The class began with a question: What would you do if this was
your last day on earth? Then a video was shown with Pastor Warren explaining his book
about Christian life. Then Caye presented several additional questions for discussion.

The host for next weeks class will be Helen Jonas who is a member of St.
Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church. Several parishes are represented in the class
which has been growing each week. When this series is finished plans are being made to
have several groups going at the same time. There are five more series in the program.

Orthodox Young Adults Swing Dance At St. Luke Parish

The Orthodox Young Adults Group held swing dance lessons at St. Luke
Parish this weekend. The OYA is a daughter organization of the Orthodox Christian Clergy
Association of Chicago. Their mission is to bridge the gap between young adults of all
Orthodox jurisdictions through worship, fellowship, learning, and philanthrophy.

In this photo our dancers gathered to introduce themselves. Several different parishes were represented from the Chicago area and Indiana.

Our "Swing Dance" instructors lead the group and begin to teach them the steps involved.

And away we go!!!!!!!!

Dancers concentrate on the teachers while trying to reproduce the steps involved.

Fuel for the dancing came in the form of punch, snacks and the ever popular pizza.

St. Luke Visits Galilee Missionary Baptist Church

Fr. Andrew and 18 of St. Luke parishioners paid a visit to Galilee
Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. This was a return visit. Last year members of
Galilee Baptist Church visited St. Luke to learn about the Orthodox Church and about
Orthodox Christian worship. So in return St. Luke parishioners visited their church to
learn about their worship.

In the photo Fr. Andrew is presenting an Icon of St. Moses the
Ethiopian to Pastor Steve Spiller to honor Black History month. He introduced several
Orthodox members of St. Luke from Eritrea and explained to Pastor Steve that St. Moses was
part of black history dating back to the 4th century.

Here is a picture of the icon that was presented. For information concerning the life of the Venerable Moses the Black of Scete please
click here

The combined congregation singing a hymn of praise. It was noted how
much spirit was expressed in singing the hymn and how we could put more spirit into our
hymn singing.

Pastor Spiller spoke about preaching and said if he was preaching he
would preach on Psalm 133 about "how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity! "

It was decided that St. Luke and Galilee Baptist would combine efforts
to help the poor and have annual visits.